The recently released coroner’s report about the accidental deaths of well-known Goleta farmers Jay and Kristen Ruskey includes even more tragic details of the night that the couple were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning at a friends’ home in Cambria.
Though the document does not contradict the cause of death, it does explain that medics arrived at the house earlier that night to treat Jay. Kristen told them that he’d taken a psychedelic mushroom-laced chocolate, but he declined to go to the hospital for further observation.
Less than six hours later, both were found unresponsive by their friends — Jay in the bedroom and Kristen on the floor in an adjacent laundry room.
The Ruskeys, whose farm is located in the hills on the western edge of Goleta, are considered modern agricultural pioneers, having developed the market for such crops as caviar lime and dragon fruit. They were best known for spearheading the California coffee-growing movement, which continues under the company Frinj Coffee.
According to the report, the couple were attending a birthday party in Cambria on February 7 with more than 50 other people, and went to their room at around 2:30 a.m. At 4:34 a.m. on February 8, Kristen called 9-1-1, reporting that Jay may be having a seizure; other partygoers had heard him screaming and getting sick.
Kristen told the medics that he’d ingested “shrooms” via a chocolate bar and was “having a bad trip.” Mushroom-laced chocolates are a popular recreational drug, typically taken in small “microdoses” and not considered toxic. Some mushrooms are fatal if ingested but take multiple days to cause death.
Based “on the totality of the circumstances and the decedent’s observed behavior,” the medics suggested that Jay go to the hospital for a “higher level of care.” He declined all medical treatment, and then the couple went back to bed.
At about 9:30 a.m. that morning, their friends found Kristen unresponsive on the laundry room floor, which was adjacent to the bedroom where they were staying. Jay was then found in the bedroom, also “unresponsive, pulseless, and not breathing.”
The coroner did not find any signs of trauma or injury, nor were any drugs found in the bedroom or their vehicle. There was a piece of gold foil that detectives believe to have contained the mushroom chocolate, but no other surviving attendees witnessed Jay consume drugs.
Five days later, the home’s owner called the authorities concerned about carbon monoxide levels in the residence. Detectives found that the bedroom where the Ruskeys stayed had a smoke and carbon monoxide detector on the ceiling, but that its electrical wiring was disconnected.
The report confirms that the cause of death for both was carbon monoxide poisoning, noting that Kristen also had a 0.042 blood alcohol level. Carbon monoxide may also cause disorientation before becoming fatal.
“While this news brings a somber clarity, we choose to focus on the incredible light they brought to the world,” said the family in a statement. “Their legacy lives on through the trees they planted, the farmers they mentored, and the children who carry their spirit forward.”
The family hopes this tragedy may prevent others. “Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors save lives,” the statement continued. “For the sake of your loved ones, please have detectors installed in your home and check them regularly. They save lives.”
They leave behind three teenage children, two in high school and one in college. You can support them here. You can also read more about the future of Frinj Coffee here.
